Cap assembly

ABSTRACT

The application discloses a mounting for a cap adapted to close the end of a fitting, such as a nipple or the like, the mounting including a support, a lever pivotally mounted on the support and carrying a closure cap at one end, the lever being so mounted that when in a given position the pivoted end can move laterally of the pivotal axis, and means on the support for engaging the lever when so moved to prevent pivotal movement thereof, the closure cap having means for moving the cap relative to the lever.

United States Patent lnventor Wolfgang G. Wunderlich Saugus, Calif.Appl. No. 865,912 Filed Oct. 13, 1969 Patented Dec. 7, 1971 Assignee TheRucker Company Roylyn Division Glendale, Calif.

CAP ASSEMBLY 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

11.8. CI 220/34, 220/38, 222/509, 222/545 1m. Cl 865d 43/16 Field ofSearch 220/32, 34, 38, 57; 222/509, 545, 556. 558

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 17,962 2/1931 Harris 220/32670,977 4/1901 Watson 2.20/32 2,365,695 12/1944 Grice.... 222/550 X2,639,144 5/1953 Long 1. 220/34 X 2,850,760 9/1958 Vanderwalker 220/34 XFOREIGN PATENTS 947,160 1/1949 France 220/32 Primary Examiner-Joseph R.Leclair Assistant Examiner-James R. Garrett Attorney-Whann & McManigalPATaminummw v 3,625,391, sum znrg WOLFGANG 6. wUAJDEQL/CH INVIiN'lUR.

BY 9%,, W

CAP ASSEMBLY The invention relates generally to closure caps adapted tobe held against an end of an orifice-defining fitting and particularlyto mounting means for such caps.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel durable lever typemounting of simple construction for a cap that automatically locks whenthe cap is properly positioned and forced against the fitting to whichit is to be applied.

Another object is to provide a lever type mounting for a cap or the likein which novel means is provided on a support or base for pivotallymounting a cap-carrying lever in a manner such that when the cap isforced against a fitting the lever is moved laterally relative to itspivotal axis and to provide means for locking the lever against pivotalmovement while it is in a position offset from its pivotal axis.

A further object is to provide a novel device suitable for mounting on afitting, such as a nipple, having an orifice to be capped and to providea device which is readily installable and easily operated.

In summary, the invention is concerned with the provision of a novellever mounting in which the lever may be moved laterally of its normalpivotal axis and when so moved is then locked against pivotal movement,the lever being adapted to carry a cap and means for exerting forceagainst the cap so as to cause the lever to move into a locked positionas the cap is forced against the fitting.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and thefollowing description. Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing a cap assembly embodying theinvention mounted upon a fitting which is to be capped;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view in the direction of line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 44 of FIG. 2 and line 44of FIG. 3, but on a larger scale; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional detail views similar to the lower portion ofFIG. 4, but showing different positions of the parts.

More particularly describing the invention, referring first to FIGS. 1and 2, numeral 11 generally designates a cap assembly embodying theinvention shown applied to a fitting l2 which includes a nipple 13having a passage 14 therethrough.

The cap assembly in general is made up of a lever 15 which is pivotallymounted on a support or base plate 16, a cap or closure designated 17which is carried by the outer end of the lever, and a cap actuatinglever 18 which serves to move the cap 17 with respect to the lever bymeans of a pin and slot connection or cam means between the two whichwill be described later.

The main support or base 16 may take several forms, however, it is shownas comprising an apertured plate 20 which receives the fitting and issecured thereon by a nut 21. The plate extends radially to one side ofthe fitting and is formed to provide a pair of upright ears 22, one ateach side of the plate. A tongue 23 at the outer end of the main portionof the base extends upwardly and curves inwardly and partiallydownwardly back upon itself as best shown in FIGS. 46. The tongue issubstantially narrower than the distance between the ears 22, leaving aspace between the tongue and each ear.

The lever 15 is mounted on a pivot pin 25 which extends between the twoears 22 of the base plate. The lever is fonned to provide a free endwhich has two laterally spaced capmounting sections 27 connected by across member 28. Extending rearwardly from each of the sections 27 is anarm 30 which terminates in a slotted pivotend section 32. The two arms30 diverge while the two end sections are parallel and are receivedbetween the cars 22 and tongue 23 of the base. The end sections 32 ofthe lever are each provided with a slot 34 to receive the pivot pin 25which is positioned at the upper ends of such slots when the lever isnot in locked position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The lower edge portionof each lever end section 32 is rounded at 34 so that the lever willturn freely with respect to the base and the upper edge 36 is similarlyshaped although it need not be.

The slots in the end sections 32 of the lever 15 also carry a shaft 38on which is mounted a roller 39 which acts as a cam follower withrespect to a cam 40 mounted on the pivot pin and extending between thetwo lever end sections 32. This cam is configured to fit inside the endwall or tongue as best shown in FIGS. 4-6. It is also formed with asurface recess 41 which extends from side to side directly beneath thepivot point and faces directly toward the plane of the base plate 20.Laterally of this recess the cam has lobes 43 which are at a greaterdistance from the pivotal axis of the pivot pin than the surfacedefining the recess. Consequently it will be apparent that the lever maybe moved upwardly or normal to the plane of plate 20 and laterally withrespect to the pivot pin axis a limited extent as shown in FIG. 4, thecam follower and cam limiting such motion of the lever.

The outer end of the main lever is formed with parallel end sections 27between which the cap actuating lever 18 is mounted on a pin 51. Thelever has a pair of laterally spaced end plates 53 which are slotted at54 to receive the ends of a pin 55 mounted in and projecting fromopposite sides of a stud 56 on the closure cap 21. Thus, when theactuating lever is moved from the position in which it is shown inbroken lines in FIG. 1 to the full line position of that figure, the capwill be moved relatively downwardly with respect to the end of the lever18.

In the operation of the device, assuming that the assembly is in thebroken line position of FIG. 1, the main lever 15 will be in theposition shown in FIG. 6. To cap the nipple, the assembly is thenrotated to bring lever 15 to the position of FIG. 1 with the capdirectly over the fitting. The cap actuating lever 18 is then movedcounterclockwise to move the cap downwardly against the nipple. Once thecap engages the end of the fitting, the lever 15 moves upwardly withrespect to the fitting and the base plate 20 and since the lever is inthe position occupied by the parts as shown in FIG. 5, the lever is freeto move upwardly until the cam 40 is engaged by the roller 39 as shownin FIG. 4. It will be apparent that when this condition is reached thelever then cannot rotate and the device is locked in place.

I claim:

I. A cap assembly comprising:

a. a support fixedly mounted adjacent a fitting to be capped;

b. a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said support, said leverbeing adapted for pivotal movement relative to the fitting to be cappedso that its free end is movable into juxtaposition with the distal endof the fitting;

c. means for pivotally mounting the lever on said support so that thelever may be moved laterally with respect to its pivotal axis in adirection substantially paralleling the principal axis of the fitting tobe capped;

d. a cap means carried by the free end of the lever for capping thedistal end of the fitting;

e. means between the free end of the lever and the cap for moving saidcap and said free end of the lever relatively opposite to one another;and

f. interengaging means on said lever and said support for preventingpivotal movement of said lever when said lever has been moved to aposition wherein the cap is in closing engagement with the distal end ofthe fitting.

2. The cap assembly set forth in claim 1 in which the means pivotallymounting the lever at one end on the support comprises a pin and slotconnection between the lever and the support.

3. The cap assembly set forth in claim 2 in which the interengagingmeans on the lever and the support prevent pivotal movement of the leverwhen said lever has been moved to a position of closing engagement ofthe cap with the fitting comprises a cam mounted on said support and acam follower carried by said lever.

4. A cap assembly comprising:

a. cap means for closing the end of a fitting;

b. a support mounted adjacent to the fitting;

c. a lever adapted to be pivotally connected at one end to said supportand adapted to carry said cap means at its other end, said lever beingconstructed so that said cap means may be moved into juxtaposition withthe said end of the fitting to be closed;

d. means between the free end of said lever and said cap means formoving said lever and said cap means relatively opposite to one anotherto close said fitting;

e. a cam mounted on said support, said cam having a surface recessextending parallel to and longitudinally of the pivotal axis of thelever and facing away from the lever;

f. a cam follower carried by said lever, said cam follower being adaptedto cooperatively engage the recess in said cam when said lever is in aposition in which said cap means is in closing engagement with saidfitting.

5. A cap assembly comprising:

a. a cap means for closing the end of a fitting;

b. a support mounted adjacent the fitting to be capped;

c. a lever carrying said cap means at one end and terminating at theother end in a pair of laterally spaced end sections, said end sectionseach having a clot therein in registration with the slot in the otherend section;

d. a pivot pin fixedly mounted on said support and extending throughsaid slots;

e. a cam mounted on said pivot pin between the end sections of saidlever, said cam having a surface recess extending parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the pivot pin and facing away from the lever; and

f. a cam follower carried by said end sections of said lever adapted forengagement with the recess in said cam to prevent relative linearmovement between the pivot pin and the end sections of the lever alongthe slots therein, and to prevent pivotal movement of the lever whensaid lever is in a position in which said cap means is in closingengagement with the fitting.

6. The cap assembly set forth in claim 5 in which said support comprisesan apertured plate having a pair of spaced ears between which theslotted ends of the lever are received and in which the pivot pin ismounted.

7. A cap assembly comprising:

a. a cap means for closing the end of a fitting;

b. a support mounted on the fitting to be capped, said support includinga base plate section having a pair of laterally spaced upright ears;

c. a main lever adapted to carry said cap means at one end andterminating at the other end in a pair of laterally spaced end sectionsdisposed between the ears of said support, said end sections each havinga slot therein in registration with the slot in the other end section;

d. a pivot pin fixedly mounted in the ears of said support and extendingthrough said slots in the end sections of the arms of the lever;

e. means between the lever and the cap for moving said cap and saidlever relatively opposite to one another for closing the fitting;

f. a cam having a surface recess which extends axially of said cam andfaces toward the plane of the base plate section of said support mountedon said pivot pin between the end sections of said lever; and

g. a cam follower including a roller between said end sections of saidlever for engagement with said cam, said roller being carried on a shafthaving its ends received in the slots in end sections of the lever andbeing adapted to engage the surface recess in said cam so as to preventrelative linear movement between the pivot pin and the end sections ofthe lever along the slots therein, and to prevent pivotal movement ofthe lever when said cap means is in closing engagement with saidfitting.

1. A cap assembly comprising: a. a support fixedly mounted adjacent afitting to be capped; b. a lever pivotally mounted at one end on saidsupport, said lever being adapted for pivotal movement relative to thefitting to be capped so that its free end is movable into juxtapositionwith the distal end of the fitting; c. means for pivotally mounting thelever on saId support so that the lever may be moved laterally withrespect to its pivotal axis in a direction substantially paralleling theprincipal axis of the fitting to be capped; d. a cap means carried bythe free end of the lever for capping the distal end of the fitting; e.means between the free end of the lever and the cap for moving said capand said free end of the lever relatively opposite to one another; andf. interengaging means on said lever and said support for preventingpivotal movement of said lever when said lever has been moved to aposition wherein the cap is in closing engagement with the distal end ofthe fitting.
 2. The cap assembly set forth in claim 1 in which the meanspivotally mounting the lever at one end on the support comprises a pinand slot connection between the lever and the support.
 3. The capassembly set forth in claim 2 in which the interengaging means on thelever and the support prevent pivotal movement of the lever when saidlever has been moved to a position of closing engagement of the cap withthe fitting comprises a cam mounted on said support and a cam followercarried by said lever.
 4. A cap assembly comprising: a. cap means forclosing the end of a fitting; b. a support mounted adjacent to thefitting; c. a lever adapted to be pivotally connected at one end to saidsupport and adapted to carry said cap means at its other end, said leverbeing constructed so that said cap means may be moved into juxtapositionwith the said end of the fitting to be closed; d. means between the freeend of said lever and said cap means for moving said lever and said capmeans relatively opposite to one another to close said fitting; e. a cammounted on said support, said cam having a surface recess extendingparallel to and longitudinally of the pivotal axis of the lever andfacing away from the lever; f. a cam follower carried by said lever,said cam follower being adapted to cooperatively engage the recess insaid cam when said lever is in a position in which said cap means is inclosing engagement with said fitting.
 5. A cap assembly comprising: a. acap means for closing the end of a fitting; b. a support mountedadjacent the fitting to be capped; c. a lever carrying said cap means atone end and terminating at the other end in a pair of laterally spacedend sections, said end sections each having a slot therein inregistration with the slot in the other end section; d. a pivot pinfixedly mounted on said support and extending through said slots; e. acam mounted on said pivot pin between the end sections of said lever,said cam having a surface recess extending parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the pivot pin and facing away from the lever; and f. a camfollower carried by said end sections of said lever adapted forengagement with the recess in said cam to prevent relative linearmovement between the pivot pin and the end sections of the lever alongthe slots therein, and to prevent pivotal movement of the lever whensaid lever is in a position in which said cap means is in closingengagement with the fitting.
 6. The cap assembly set forth in claim 5 inwhich said support comprises an apertured plate having a pair of spacedears between which the slotted ends of the lever are received and inwhich the pivot pin is mounted.
 7. A cap assembly comprising: a. a capmeans for closing the end of a fitting; b. a support mounted on thefitting to be capped, said support including a base plate section havinga pair of laterally spaced upright ears; c. a main lever adapted tocarry said cap means at one end and terminating at the other end in apair of laterally spaced end sections disposed between the ears of saidsupport, said end sections each having a slot therein in registrationwith the slot in the other end section; d. a pivot pin fixedly mountedin the ears of said support and extending through said slots in the endsections of the arms of the lever; e. means between the lever and thecap for moving said cap and said lever relatively opposite to oneanother for closing the fitting; f. a cam having a surface recess whichextends axially of said cam and faces toward the plane of the base platesection of said support mounted on said pivot pin between the endsections of said lever; and g. a cam follower including a roller betweensaid end sections of said lever for engagement with said cam, saidroller being carried on a shaft having its ends received in the slots inend sections of the lever and being adapted to engage the surface recessin said cam so as to prevent relative linear movement between the pivotpin and the end sections of the lever along the slots therein, and toprevent pivotal movement of the lever when said cap means is in closingengagement with said fitting.